Chapter 5

She was surprised by his offer for a minute. She smiled and then the words came out of her words. Totally out of her control.

"Totally Ok with this idea. Not tired too."

"Ok but…" He was surprised she answered so fast. "Not there… I know Luca loves this neighborhood but it remains a lil bit dangerous. You follow me till Lake Hollywood Park, it'll be calmer."

He took his bike and went first. She followed him with her truck. It was peaceful to drive in the middle of the night in Los Angeles. The traffic jam was not there anyone. The roads were free from people and from cars. In less than 20 minutes, they were at the park. She parked her car next to his bike.

Chris and Jim entered a park. It was dark, it was calm. The Hollywood sign was looking over the place from the hill. They were alone. And it felt good to be surrounded by silence. Neither Chris, nor Jim told a word. Each one was lost in their mind. And yet it felt good not to be lonely in this moment. They walked for they didn't know how long. Who cared? It was the middle of the night and no one was waiting for them at home. Los Angeles was a beautiful city when it was peaceful. It changed from the frenetic, chaotic energy of the day.

"Do you want to have a sit?" Jim asked Chris, showing a bench on their way. "My feet kind of ache."

She smiled. "Mine too. Loafers are not made for walking."

They sat. Still this silence. But this time, it was mostly the embarrassment talking. Christ twisted her hands with anxiety.

"Thank you again for your gift… It means a lot, you know." He smiled shyly at her.

"I just remembered the story with your mom during the riots… And I thought it will be cool you have one that is not stolen this time."

She let out a laugh. "Good to know you didn't recreate the true story with all the details."

He laughed. "Better for me. I've been kicked once from SWAT. Don't plan to renew the experience."

"You better not, Long Beach. I won't beg Hondo to take you back as I did last time."

"Hey! You may have begged but I took the exam to be SWAT for real, not a simple cop joining the SWAT family because what he had the closest to a father figure pulled some mysterious strings to get him in."

"But you didn't have if I had not pushed you!"

He laughed. "I surely hadn't. Fortunately for me, you know to be a pain in the ass when you need to. And God knows, how I need this kind of behavior sometimes. I'm learning but I'm still a lil dumbass…"

She looked at him, faking being shocked. "Stop pretending, I know I am. And I know that you know I can be like that. I've been like this with you when you were just trying to help me."

"Pleading guilty… I can be a real dumbass too… I made you pay the price for too many things… When the only thing I thought was - why are you so mean to him when the only person you're really mad at is you…"

She remained silent for a moment, looking at her hands. Still twisted them. She was doing this since she was a kid. She couldn't confront his look right now. Not when she was trying to open up. A real challenge for her who was totally shut up in her shell for so long.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Jim. I didn't mean too. I was just too lost, too scared, too petrified. All my life I've been alone. I mean I love my uncle and aunt and cousins but there's a whole part of me they didn't know about… When you know me better than anyone. And I have to confess that it scares me that someone in this world can read me so easily. It has never happened before… You know… You come to my life."

She raised her head to look at him and giving a faint smile.

"Feel flattered to be the only one who can do this… But you're pretty well too when he comes to read me."

She snickered. "So we're even…"

"I guess so…"

"I'm just sad we had to be through all this to get there…."

"This is how the best story begins…" He looked at her, giving him a puzzled look. "By story, I mean friendship. All the great friendship starts by messing up. And as we have experienced our worst, it can only get better."

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah maybe… I'm just glad to have a friend like you, Street…"

"Me too, Chris…" He remained silent, time to find an idea to escape this maybe too intimate moment. They had been there before. He didn't want to do the same mistake and lose his best friend again. He has learned the lesson.